July 13, 2014

"I can't do this anymore!": Overthinking Summer Camp's Losing My Mind

One of my most favorite Summer Camp songs and music videos is Losing My Mind. Basically, it's a song told by two people who used to be in love, but have now drifted apart and are contemplating separation.

On the surface, the music video looks simply quirky and charming. But since I'm an obsessive pop culture freak, I'm writing this to dissect all my feelings about this MV. (Send help.)

In accordance with the lyrics, the video shows Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey doing a photography portrait session. They have matching red sweaters and are petting a cat for that extra cheesy feel, but their facial expressions are a mixture of disdain and annoyance, betrayed by constant eye-rolling and gritted teeth. Their smiles are artificial and forced for the camera.

Then there are the rest of the people shown. There's an overachiever who displays her trophies proudly, a middle-aged sex kitten, a woman dancing, a kid stomping around in a dinosaur hat, and so many more. What I've found in common among them was the fact that they were happy. They were expressing themselves freely and found joy because of it. In short, they have the freedom that our couple lacks in their relationship, where they feel trapped in a house that "isn't big enough for the both of us".

The whole video is a contrast of their suffocation, against the vibrancy of life outside their relationship. The clips of happy people, woven with montages of our couple's pent-up dissatisfaction, were meant to highlight the misery of feeling cornered in a relationship.

Plus, there's the cat. I mentioned earlier that the cat was for an extra-cheesy vibe, but I noticed that around 2:27 in the video, the couple made a frantic grab for the feline all while smiling for the camera. This, to me, indicated a desperate projection of affection towards the cat to avoid showing affection to each other instead. They're using the cat to "bond", but they're only using it as a shield from each other.

And in 2:58, when the shoot is over, they stand up and walk in different directions. I may be overthinking this, but is it possible that they've decided to part ways after realizing the futility of their situation?

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That's it for today's dose of geekiness. If there's anyone else who likes this song as much as I do, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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the thief

This neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie is Ela, an obnoxious oddball who is always looking for the next fresh start. She's a self-confessed geek who prefers fiction to reality. You can usually find her pretending to be a well-adjusted person. Contact her for your daily dose of annoyance.